Sour crop? Watery droppings, deflated comb

[StuffedTomatoes]

I noticed my 22-week old Calico Princess passing watery droppings (with some solids) the last few days, along with her comb looking like it was shrivelled up. The colouring of her comb and wattles is a dull to bright pink.

I picked her up this morning and caught a slight whiff of a sewer-like smell around her head.

She was eating, playing, hanging out with the rest of her flock normally, albeit a bit less rambunctiously than usual in retrospect. I attributed that to her being a new layer and figuring things out.

My first assumption is that she’s got a case of sour crop so I felt her crop and it was very squishy. I’ve isolated her, and have massaged her crop a couple of time. She has access to water with a drop of oil of oregano, food is withheld until tomorrow morning.

What else can I do for her? Is this sour crop or something else? The deflated looking comb is most concerning.

For background: she laid her first egg on Sep. 29, and her second five days later. She hasn’t laid since. The whole flock got a course of Corid the first week of October. They have free access to oyster shell and grit and are fed Grubbly Fresh Pecks in a Grandpa feeder. They are given scratch in the evening and a handful mealworms in the morning. They are getting pumpkin purée every other day since it’s the season!

 

[azygous]

Unless you live in the bottom half of the world, this is molting time for chickens of the age of your hen and older. Hormones dwindle during this period affecting the comb as well as other bodily functions. The smell from her head does point to a possible crop disorder. By morning you should know for sure.

Check her crop before she eats or drinks. If it's full, then start treating her for sour crop.

There's no need to withhold food and water after you verify she has sour crop, and keeping her with the flock will make her recover faster.

 

[StuffedTomatoes]

Thank you for your input! I hadn't considered molting because of her age, I was told that the molting doesn't necessarily apply if they're spring chicks. This is good to know!

Her crop was definitely holding on to something this morning when I checked on her. She is back with her flockmates for their morning constitutional around the yard and was acting otherwise fine. She did have a little bit of pumpkin purée and some worms but was not the first to come for them as usual. She's also drinking a lot more, I've not seen her at the feeder yet.

 

[azygous]

Keep watching the crop. Sour (yeast) crop isn't the only disorder. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[StuffedTomatoes]

I was looking at another thread where this article was linked, and realised that you were the one who had written it!

I preemptively went out to get some miconozole to have on hand just in case since that's what most available in my area. I'll keep monitoring her crop and see how it shakes out. Thank you!